Content Based Partitioning of Digital Media Content

ABSTRACT

There is provided a content based partitioning system and a method for use in performing content based partitioning of digital media content. In one implementation, such a content based partitioning system includes a system processor, a system memory, and a content based partitioning module stored in the system memory. The content based partitioning module, under control of the system processor, is configured to receive encoded digital media content corresponding to the digital media content, to receive encoding parameters used to encode the encoded digital media content, and to utilize the encoding parameters and the encoded digital media content to identify partition boundaries in the encoded digital media content.

BACKGROUND

Consumers seeking to enjoy digital media content in the form of movies,television (TV) programming, or videos, for example, have more optionsfor accessing such content than ever before. In addition to relativelywell established channels for digital media content distribution, suchas use of a video on demand (VOD) service, or purchase or rental of aphysical media on which the content is stored, a variety of otheroptions for obtaining access to desired content now exist as well. Forinstance, there is an ever-increasing variety of content available overthe Internet, enabling consumers to have desired content streamed ordownloaded to a personal computer (PC) at home, or to a mobilecommunication device while traveling or otherwise away from home.

The increased choice enjoyed by the consumers of a wide variety ofdigital media content has created significant competition for theirattention and patronage among producers of that content. In acompetitive environment in which so much content is so readilyavailable, one way for content producers to set their own products apartin the marketplace is to provide content that enables an enhancedviewing experience.

SUMMARY

There are provided systems and methods for performing content basedpartitioning of digital media content, substantially as shown in and/ordescribed in connection with at least one of the figures, and as setforth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an exemplary content based partitioningsystem, according to one implementation;

FIG. 2 shows another exemplary implementation of a content basedpartitioning system;

FIG. 3 shows yet another exemplary implementation of a content basedpartitioning system;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary client system and a physical media includingdigital media content having undergone content based partitioning,according to one implementation;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart presenting an exemplary method for performingcontent based partitioning of digital media content; and

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary encoded video stream including partitionboundaries identified using a method for performing content basedpartitioning of digital media content, according to one implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description contains specific information pertaining toimplementations in the present disclosure. One skilled in the art willrecognize that the present disclosure may be implemented in a mannerdifferent from that specifically discussed herein. The drawings in thepresent application and their accompanying detailed description aredirected to merely exemplary implementations. Unless noted otherwise,like or corresponding elements among the figures may be indicated bylike or corresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings andillustrations in the present application are generally not to scale, andare not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

As explained above, the increased choices for accessing digital mediacontent now available to consumers has created significant competitionfor consumer patronage among content producers. As further explained,one way for content producers to set their own products apart in acompetitive marketplace is to provide content that enables an enhancedviewing experience. For example, it may be desirable to improve the waythat digital media content is partitioned or segmented prior todistribution, which enhances a consumer's experience when searchingand/or navigating through the digital media content, i.e., thepartitioning/segmentation may more closely align the user experience ofsearching and/or navigating through the digital media content with thepreferences of consumers.

In conventional video streaming systems, each video program is typicallysegmented into equal and fixed time segments, such as 1-second segments,2-second segments, 3-second segments, 4-second segments, 5-secondsegments, or 6-second segments, for example, without regard to thecontent changes or scene changes in the video program.

It is noted that, as used in the present application, the terms“partition,” “partitioned,” and “partitioning” refer to the subdivisionof a cognizably integral unit of digital media content, such as a movie,a video clip, or an episode of television (TV) programming, for example,into multiple discrete blocks of digital media content data.Partitioning of digital media content may take the form of segmentationof the digital media content into many relatively short data blocks toenable streaming of the digital media content and/or to render thedigital media content searchable by a user. For example, partitioning inthe form of segmentation can ensure smoother video distribution over theInternet as each segment is offered in multiple bit-rates and selectedaccording to the consumer's available bandwidth.

As another example, segmentation may render the digital media contentsearchable by enabling a user to navigate forward and backward withinthe digital media content with significant precision. In addition,segmentation may render the digital media content searchable by enablingfast-forward and rewind functionalities for the user. Alternatively, orin addition, partitioning of the digital media content may take the formof chaptering of digital media content made available for download to auser, or digital media content stored and distributed on a physicalmedia such as an optical disc or flash media drive, for example. In oneimplementation, chaptering may be performed as part of the authoringprocess. Other exemplary applications for content based partitioninginclude using the partitioning for indexing, using the partitioning formetadata generation, using the partitioning as entry to a multi bit-ratestreaming solution used for trick modes in a digital video recorder(DVR) or other media storage and/or playback system.

According to various implementations of the present inventive concepts,a content based partitioning system for distributing digital mediacontent includes a content based partitioning module stored in thesystem memory. The content based partitioning module, under control ofthe system processor, is configured to receive encoded digital mediacontent corresponding to the digital media content being distributed. Inaddition, the content based partitioning module is configured to receivethe encoding parameters used to encode the encoded digital media contentand to utilize the encoding parameters as well as the encoded digitalmedia content to identify partition boundaries in the encoded digitalmedia content. As a result, the content based partitioning moduleenables the content based partitioning system to partition the encodeddigital media content in a content aware manner so as to enhance a userexperience. That is to say, implementations of the present concepts canadvantageously enable partitioning of digital media content at partitionboundaries coinciding with or corresponding to inherent transitionswithin the digital media content itself.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of exemplary content based partitioning system102, according to one implementation. As shown in FIG. 1, contentdistribution environment 100 includes content based partitioning system102, communications network 106, client system 130, and consumer or user140 (hereinafter “user 140”). As further shown in FIG. 1, content basedpartitioning system 102 includes system processor 104, and system memory110 having stored therein digital media content 112, encoder 114, andcontent based partitioning module 120. In addition, FIG. 1 shows contentprofiles database 117 residing in memory 110. It is noted that contentprofiles database 117 is represented as a dashed block to indicate that,in some implementations, a content based partitioning system may notutilize content profiles. Also shown in FIG. 1 are encoded digital mediacontent 116, encoding parameters 118 used by encoder 114 to encodeencoded digital media content 116, and network communication links 108interactively connecting client system 130 and content basedpartitioning system 102 via communications network 106.

It is noted that digital media content 112 may take a variety of forms.For example, in some implementations, digital media content 112 may bevideo content in the form of raw video, or in the form of a highbit-rate master. In implementations in which digital media content 112is provided as a high bit-rate master, digital media content 112 is analready encoded digital media content, albeit typically encoded at avery high bit-rate. In such implementations, digital media content 112may be received by content based partitioning module 120 without beingfirst encoded by encoder 114. In other such implementations, however,encoder 114 may further process the high bit-rate master by re-encodingdigital media content 112 at a different bit rate or rates.

It is further noted that although FIG. 1 depicts digital media content112, encoder 114, content profiles database 117, and content basedpartitioning module 120 as being mutually co-located in system memory110, that representation is merely provided as an aid to conceptualclarity. More generally, content based partitioning system 102 mayinclude one or more media servers, which may be co-located, or may forman interactively linked but distributed system. As a result, systemprocessor 104 and system memory 110 may correspond to distributedprocessor and memory resources within content based partitioning system102. Thus, it is to be understood that one or more of digital mediacontent 112, encoder 114, content profiles database 117, and contentbased partitioning module 120 may be stored remotely from the other(s)within the distributed memory resources of content based partitioningsystem 102.

According to the implementation shown by FIG. 1, user 140 may utilizeclient system 130 to consume content provided by content basedpartitioning system 102 over communications network 106. In one suchimplementation, content based partitioning system 102 may correspond toone or more web servers, accessible over a packet network such as theInternet, for example. Alternatively, content based partitioning system102 may correspond to one or more media servers supporting a local areanetwork (LAN), or included in another type of limited distributionnetwork.

It is also noted that although client system 130 is shown as a personalcomputer (PC) in FIG. 1, that representation is provided merely as anexample. In other implementations, client system 130 may be another typeof mobile or stationary personal communication device or system. Forexample, client system 130 may take the form of a tablet computer, aphysical media player, such as a Digital Video Disc (DVD) or Blu-ray™disc player, a smartphone, a digital media player, or a gaming console.

Digital media content 112 may be video content or audio-visual contentin the form of a video clip, movie, or TV episode, for example. Encoder114 is configured to encode digital media content 112 using any suitableencoding format, as known in the art. For example, encoder 114 may beconfigured to produce encoded digital media content 116 from videocontent corresponding to digital media content 112 using the MovingPictures Expert Group 2 (MPEG2) format, or the H.264, VP6, or VP8formats.

As shown in FIG. 1, content based partitioning module 120, under thecontrol of system processor 104, receives encoded digital media content116, corresponding to digital media content 112, from encoder 114. Asfurther shown in FIG. 1, content based partitioning module 120 alsoreceives encoding parameters 118 used by encoder 114 to encode digitalmedia content 112 into encoded digital media content 116 (e.g., therespective MPEG2, H.264, VP6, or VP8 encoding parameters). Content basedpartitioning module 120 is configured to utilize encoding parameters 118and encoded digital media content 116 to identify partition boundaries122 for use in partitioning encoded digital media content 116.

In addition, in some implementations, content based partitioning module120 may be configured to utilize a content profile associated withdigital media content 112 and/or encoded digital media content 116, incombination with encoding parameters 118 and encoded digital mediacontent 116, to identify partition boundaries 122. Such a contentprofile may be stored in content profiles database 117, for example,accessible to content based partitioning module 120. Such contentprofiles might correspond to a genre characterizing digital mediacontent 112. For example, where digital media content 112 is in the formof animation content, an animation content profile could be used toanalyze encoding parameters differently than would be the case if thecontent were identified as action adventure content having an associatedaction adventure content profile. In other words, in addition to usingencoded content 116 and encoding parameters 118, the use of contentspecific profiles may be used to inform the process of identifyingpartition boundaries 122. Content based partitioning system 102 may thenpartition encoded digital media content 116 using partition boundaries122 identified by content based partitioning module 120, and transferthe partitioned content to client system 130 over communications network106 using network communication links 108. According to oneimplementation, content based partitioning system 102 may partitionencoded digital media content 116 by segmenting encoded digital mediacontent 116 to produce searchable content, which content basedpartitioning system 102 may then stream to client system 130 overcommunications network 106.

As explained above, partitioning in the form of segmentation may renderencoded digital media content 116 searchable by enabling user 140 tonavigate forward and backward within the content with significantprecision using client system 130. In addition, segmentation may renderencoded digital media content 116 searchable by enabling user 140 tofast-forward and rewind encoded digital media content 116 through use ofclient system 130.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 shows another exemplary implementation of acontent based partitioning system as content based partitioning system202. Content distribution environment 200 includes content basedpartitioning system 202 in communication with client system 230 overnetwork communication link 208. Content based partitioning system 202 isshown to include system processor 204, and system memory 210 havingstored therein digital media content 212, encoder 214, content profilesdatabase 217, and content based partitioning module 220. As shown inFIG. 2, content based partitioning module 220 receives encoded digitalmedia content 216 a and encoding parameters 218 as inputs from encoder214, and outputs partition boundaries 222 a.

Content based partitioning system 202, including system processor 204and system memory 210, in FIG. 2, corresponds to content basedpartitioning system 102, including system processor 102 and systemmemory 110, in FIG. 1. Moreover, digital media content 212, encoder 214,encoded digital media content 216 a, encoding parameters 218, contentprofiles database 217, and content based partitioning module 220providing partition boundaries 222 a, in FIG. 2, correspond respectivelyto digital media content 112, encoder 114, encoded digital media content116, encoding parameters 118, content profiles database 117, and contentbased partitioning module 120 providing partition boundaries 122, inFIG. 1.

In addition, client system 230, in FIG. 2, corresponds to client system130, in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, client system 230 includes clientprocessor 232 and client memory 234. Also shown in FIG. 2 are encodeddigital media content 216 b and associated partition boundary data 222b. According to the implementation shown in FIG. 2, the presence ofencoded digital media content 216 b and associated partition boundarydata 222 b in client memory 234 corresponds to their download to clientsystem 230 from content based partitioning system 202 over networkcommunication link 208. It is noted that network communication link 208is shown as a two-way communication, to represent possible ongoingcommunication between client system 230 and content based partitioningsystem 202.

Client processor 232 may be the central processing unit for clientsystem 230, for example, in which role client processor 232 runs theclient operating system. Client processor 232 may further manageretrieval and use of partition boundary data 222 b to partition encodeddigital media content 216 b residing in client memory 234. Thus, asrepresented by FIGS. 1 and 2, content based partitioning system 102/202may use partitioning boundaries 122/222 a to partition encoded digitalmedia content 116/216 a, for example by segmenting digital media content116 to produce searchable content, and stream that searchable content toclient system 130. In addition, or alternatively, content basedpartitioning system 102/202 may download partition boundary data 222 bas associated data with encoded digital content 222 b to client memory234 for use by client system 230. FIG. 3 shows a diagram of exemplarycontent based partitioning system 302, according to one implementation.As shown in FIG. 3, content distribution environment 300 includescontent based partitioning system 302, communications network 306,client system 330, and user 340. As further shown in FIG. 3, contentbased partitioning system 302 includes system processor 304, and systemmemory 310 having stored therein digital media content 312, encoder 314,and content based partitioning module 320. Also shown in FIG. 3 areencoded digital media content 316, encoding parameters 318 used byencoder 314 to encode encoded digital media content 316, and networkcommunication links 308 interactively connecting client system 330 andcontent based partitioning system 302 via communications network 306.

Content based partitioning system 302, including system processor 304and system memory 310, in FIG. 3, corresponds in general to contentbased partitioning system 102, including system processor 102 and systemmemory 110, in FIG. 1.

Moreover, digital media content 312, encoder 314, encoded digital mediacontent 316, encoding parameters 318, and content based partitioningmodule 320, in FIG. 3, correspond respectively to digital media content112, encoder 114, encoded digital media content 116, encoding parameters118, and content based partitioning module 120, in FIG. 1.

Absent from the implementation shown by FIG. 3 is a content profilesdatabase corresponding to content profiles database 117, in FIG. 1.However, the omission of that feature is merely by way of example, andin other implementations, content based partitioning system 302 mayinclude such a content profiles database. According to the specificimplementation of FIG. 3, encoder 314 is configured to re-encodepartitioned content 323 provided as an output of content basedpartitioning module 320, prior to its distribution as partitioned andencoded content 325 over network 306.

Moreover, as noted above, in implementations in which digital mediacontent 312 is provided as a high bit-rate master, rather than rawcontent, digital media content 312 may be received by content basedpartitioning module 320 without first being encoded by encoder 314. Insuch implementations, encoder 314 may be utilized to re-encodepartitioned content 323 without first encoding digital media content312. However, as shown by FIG. 3, in some implementations, encoder 314may be used to encode or re-encode digital media content 312 prior toits partitioning by content based partitioning module 320, and tosubsequently re-encode partitioned content 323 to produce partitionedand encoded content 325. As a result, the present concepts can byapplied so as to provide adaptive streaming of partitioned and encodedcontent 325 by utilizing multiple bit-rates to re-encode partitionedcontent 323 after partitioning of encoded content 316 by content basedpartitioning module 320.

Moving now to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows exemplary client system 430 andphysical media 421 including digital media content 423 having undergonecontent based partitioning, according to one implementation. Clientsystem 430, in FIG. 4, includes media player 436 including clientprocessor 432 and client memory 434, interactively linked to display438. Also shown in FIG. 4 is physical media 421 having partitioneddigital media content 423 stored thereon.

As shown in FIG. 4, physical media 421 may be an optical disc, such as aDVD, or a high-definition Blu-ray™ disc, for example. According to theimplementation shown by FIG. 4, partitioned content 423 has beenpartitioned by being chaptered for use on client system 430. In otherwords, in implementations corresponding in general to FIG. 4, a contentbased partitioning system, such as content based partitioning system102, in FIG. 1, has partitioned encoded digital media content 116 usingpartition boundaries 122 identified by content based partitioning module120. In addition, the content based partitioning system has stored thatpartitioned content, as chaptered digital media content 423, on physicalmedia 421 configured for playback by client system 430, and distributedphysical media 421 using a distribution channel other than download ordigital streaming.

The present inventive concepts will now be further described withreference to FIG. 5, which presents flowchart 500 describing anexemplary method for performing content based partitioning of digitalmedia content. With respect to the method outlined in FIG. 5, it isnoted that certain details and features have been left out of flowchart500 in order not to obscure the discussion of the inventive features inthe present application.

Referring to FIG. 5 in combination with FIGS. 1 and 2, flowchart 500begins with receiving encoded digital media content 116/216 a (510).According to the implementations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, encoded digitalmedia content 116/216 a is received by content based partitioning module120/220 after the encoding of digital media content 112/212 by encoder114/214. As explained above by reference to FIG. 1, digital mediacontent 112/212 may be video content or audio-visual content in the formof a video clip, movie, or TV episode.

Flowchart 500 continues with receiving encoding parameters used toencode encoded digital media content 116/216 a (520). As shown in FIGS.1 and 2, in addition to encoded digital media content 116/216 a, contentbased partitioning module 120/220 also receives encoding parameters118/218 from encoder 114/214. As explained above, encoder 114/214 may beconfigured to encode digital media content 112/212 using any suitableencoding format, such as MPEG2, H.264, VP6, or VP8, for example. As aspecific example, where encoder 114/214 uses the MPEG2 format to encodedigital media content 112/212 into encoded digital media content 116/216a, encoding parameters 118/218 would include the encoding parametersimplemented by the MPEG2 codec. By analogy, when another encoding formatis utilized by encoder 114/214, the encoding parameters implemented bythe corresponding codec would be received by content based partitioningmodule 120/220 as encoding parameters 118/218 from encoder 114/214.

Flowchart 500 continues with utilizing encoding parameters 118/218 andencoded digital media content 116/216 a to identify partition boundaries122/222 a in encoded digital media content 116/216 a (530).Identification of partition boundaries 122/222 a may be performed bycontent based partitioning module 120/220, which is shown to receiveencoded digital media content 116/216 a and encoding parameters 118/218as inputs, and to output partition boundaries 122/222 a.

According to the present concepts, the specific encoding of encodeddigital media content 116/216 a, when considered in view of encodingparameters 118/218, can yield information regarding transitions inherentto digital media content 112/212. For example, where digital mediacontent 112/212 is video content, the combination of encoded digitalmedia content 116/216 a and encoding parameters 118/218 can be used toidentify transitions between visually rich or dynamic portions ofdigital media content 112/212 and less rich or dynamic portions. Thus,in one implementation, one or more of partition boundaries 122/222 a maybe identified based on a substantial change in the content richness ofdigital media content 112/212 near the respective partition boundary.

In effect, the present solution can be used to identify inherentlyexisting content transitions within digital media content 112/212, andto identify partition boundaries 122/222 a so as to correspond to thoseexisting content transitions in a content aware manner. Because thecontent based partitioning approach disclosed herein is responsive todetected transitions in the content itself, rather than to an arbitrarymetric such as elapsed time or frame count, the segments or partitionsproduced according to the present method can be expected to benon-uniform in time duration, frame count, or both.

In some implementations, flowchart 500 continues with optionallyutilizing a content profile associated with content 112/212 and/orencoded digital content 116/216 a, in combination with encodingparameters 118/218 and encoded digital media content 116/216 a, toidentify partition boundaries 122/222 a (540). Identification ofpartition boundaries 122/222 a may be performed by content basedpartitioning module 120/220, which is shown to receive a content profilefrom content profiles database 117/217, as well as encoded digital mediacontent 116/216 a and encoding parameters 118/218 as inputs, and tooutput partition boundaries 122/222 a.

As explained above, a content profile may correspond to a genreidentified in metadata of digital media content 112/212. Where digitalmedia content 112/212 is in the form of comedy content, a comedy contentprofile could be used to analyze encoding parameters differently thanwould be the case if the content were identified as sports contenthaving an associated sports specific content profile, such as a baseballcontent profile, or golf content profile.

Flowchart 500 continues with partitioning encoded digital media content116/216 a using partition boundaries 122/222 a (550). For example, theprocess can segment a video using Groups of Pictures (GOPs) derived fromthe video encoding. Some videos are encoded using I-frames, P-frames,and B-frames. Each GOP can be a group of frames from one I-frame toanother I-frame. Partitioning a video every ten (10) I-frames, forexample, may provide user 140 with a smoother visual transition whenforwarding or rewinding a video. Such a process may be used formulti-pass encoding: using GOPs as a segmenting index for every pass.There are several possible multi-pass encoding techniques. One suchtechnique is to use intrinsic knowledge of content changes, as describedherein. This may be described as video content based segmentation, whichcan utilize different time intervals for different segments. Users, suchas user 140, typically want to navigate forward or backward in the videocontent to the next scene change or past the next scene change.

Referring, for example, to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 shows exemplary encoded videostream 610 including partition boundaries 651 and 652 identified using amethod for performing content based partitioning of digital mediacontent. Encoded video stream 610 includes P-frames 614 interveningbetween successive I-frames 612, and further includes B-frames 616intervening between I-frames 612 and P-frames 614, as well as betweensuccessive P-frames 614. According to the example implementation shownin FIG. 6, content based partition boundaries 651 and 652 are separatedby 10 I-frames.

Referring once again to FIGS. 1 and 2, partitioning may be performed bycontent based partitioning system 102 in order to segment encodeddigital media content 116 prior to streaming the content to clientsystem 130 over communications network 106. In another implementation,the present method may be used to provide client system 20 withpartition boundary data 222 b associated with encoded digital mediacontent 216 b, as a digital media content and associated data download.Moreover, in one implementation, as shown in FIG. 4, partitioning may beperformed by a content based partitioning system to chapter encodeddigital media content so as to produce chaptered digital media content423 stored on physical media 421. In that latter implementation, forexample, content based partitioning can be used to enhance sceneselection for a user of client system 430 by identifying inherentcontent transitions between scenes.

In some instances, the time granularity associated with the partitionboundaries identified using the present content based partitioningmethod may be less fine than that of the substantially uniformpartitions produced by alternative approaches. However, it is noted thatto the extent that a user, such as user 140, in FIG. 1, uses time tonavigate or search through encoded digital media content 116, time isused primarily as a proxy. In other words, when user 140 attempts toperform a fast-forward of rewind operation by specifying a target timeon a timeline accompanying display of a movie or TV program, user 140typically desires to navigate to the beginning of a coherent imagesequence corresponding to the specified time, rather than to the precisetime per se. Despite the possible non-uniformity of the partitionsproduced by the present content based partitioning approach, user 140 ismore likely to navigate to another portion of encoded digital mediacontent 116 at or near an existing content transition point. As aresult, the user experience of searching or navigating through digitalmedia content may be more responsive to the actual preferences of user140, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of user 140 during consumption ofencoded digital media content 116.

For example, a movie available for Internet streaming may beconventionally partitioned or segmented by equal time segments or anequal number of frames. But each partition does not correspond to achange from one scene to another scene in the movie. When a user jumpsto the next partition or segment, it may be in the middle of the nextscene in the movie. In contrast, using the partitioning methodsdescribed herein, the content may be partitioned at specific scenechanges, which allows user 140 to jump precisely to the next scene.

Thus, from the above description it is manifest that various techniquescan be used for implementing the concepts described in the presentapplication without departing from the scope of those concepts.Moreover, while the concepts have been described with specific referenceto certain implementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art wouldrecognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departingfrom the scope of those concepts. As such, the described implementationsare to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive. It should also be understood that the present applicationis not limited to the particular implementations described herein, butmany rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possiblewithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

1-24. (canceled)
 25. A method comprising: receiving a digital mediacontent; receiving group of pictures (GOPs) parameters derived based onthe digital media content; encoding the digital media content togenerate an encoded digital media content; identifying a plurality ofpartition boundaries in the encoded digital media content using the GOPsparameters; and partitioning the encoded digital media content at theplurality of partition boundaries to generate a plurality contentpartitions in the encoded digital media content, wherein the pluralitycontent partitions are non-uniform in time duration and frame count. 26.The method of claim 25 further comprising: utilizing a content profileassociated with the digital media content to identify the plurality ofpartition boundaries in the encoded digital media content.
 27. Themethod of claim 25, wherein at least one partition boundary of theplurality of partition boundaries is identified based on a substantialchange in a content richness of the digital media content near the atleast one partition boundary.
 28. The method of claim 25, wherein thedigital media content comprises audio-visual content.
 29. The method ofclaim 25, wherein the digital media content comprises video content. 30.The method of claim 25 further comprising providing the encoded digitalmedia content and data corresponding to the plurality of partitionboundaries to a client system memory over a communications network. 31.The method of claim 25 further comprising producing a partitionedcontent using the plurality of partition boundaries.
 32. The method ofclaim 31 further comprising re-encoding the partitioned content.
 33. Themethod of claim 25, wherein partitioning the encoded digital mediacontent comprises segmenting the encoded digital media content toproduce a searchable content.
 34. The method of claim 33 furthercomprising streaming the searchable content to a client system over acommunications network.
 35. A system comprising: a system processor anda system memory; a partitioning module stored in the system memory, thepartitioning module, under control of the system processor, configuredto: receive a digital media content; receive group of pictures (GOPs)parameters derived based on the digital media content; encode thedigital media content to generate an encoded digital media content;identify a plurality of partition boundaries in the encoded digitalmedia content using the GOPs parameters; and partition the encodeddigital media content at the plurality of partition boundaries togenerate a plurality content partitions in the encoded digital mediacontent, wherein the plurality content partitions are non-uniform intime duration and frame count.
 36. The system of claim 35, wherein thepartitioning module, under control of the system processor, is furtherconfigured to: utilize a content profile associated with the digitalmedia content to identify the plurality of partition boundaries in theencoded digital media content.
 37. The system of claim 35, wherein atleast one partition boundary of the plurality of partition boundaries isidentified based on a substantial change in a content richness of thedigital media content near the at least one partition boundary.
 38. Thesystem of claim 35, wherein the digital media content comprisesaudio-visual content.
 39. The system of claim 35, wherein the digitalmedia content comprises video content.
 40. The system of claim 35,wherein the partitioning module, under control of the system processor,is further configured to: provide the encoded digital media content anddata corresponding to the plurality of partition boundaries to a clientsystem memory over a communications network.
 41. The system of claim 35,wherein the partitioning module, under control of the system processor,is further configured to: produce a partitioned content using theplurality of partition boundaries.
 42. The system of claim 41, whereinthe partitioning module, under control of the system processor, isfurther configured to re-encode the partitioned content.
 43. The systemof claim 35, wherein partitioning the encoded digital media contentcomprises segmenting the encoded digital media content to produce asearchable content.
 44. The system of claim 43, wherein the partitioningmodule, under control of the system processor, is further configured tostream the searchable content to a client system over a communicationsnetwork.